Wake Up Call
by MildredHelper
Summary: Mary Beth Lacey has to come to terms with the death of her beloved partner, Christine Cagney...or does she? Part I in a series. Cross-posted on AO3.


**A/N: this is a short piece that came to me after watching A Fair Shake Part II. **

(Part I in a series).

"_I want a full-dress funeral...twenty-one gun salute...the works."_

The words her partner spoke just before her death rang in Mary Beth Lacey's ears as she peered down into the casket.

"You'll be happy to know that your wish is being honored," she whispered as she started to cry. "I don't know who did your makeup though. It's awful," she couldn't help but laugh through her tears. "I hate to tell you this, but hot pink lipstick really isn't your color, my partner."

Mary Beth thought back to the time when she first met Chris Cagney all those years ago before they were even assigned to work together. The blonde had been in an evening gown, her hair just so, and her lips painted cherry red. She remembered being absolutely enamored with the slightly older, arrogant, feisty policewoman, though at the time, she couldn't explain why. She wasn't sure if she wanted to work with her or if she just wanted to be her. She had given birth to Harvey Jr. only a couple months prior to the dinner, and all the Spandex in the world couldn't make her feel attractive.

"It's nice to see another woman on the force," Chris had said as she shook her hand.

Mary Beth quickly learned that Christine's initial niceness had been an act. She was a wildly jealous workaholic who expected everyone to care about police work as much as she did. The two had their fair share of knock-out arguments over the years, but it only made them stronger. No one could push her buttons quite like Chris could, and no one could make her happy quite like Chris could. It was a giddy kind of happiness, an unspoken bond between them. It manifested itself in small ways. Mary Beth would have aspirin and a cup of coffee ready for her partner every morning, no questions asked. Chris would slip money into Mary Beth's purse and insist that she had no idea how it got there. They could sense each other's moods and practically read each other's minds. They were more in sync than she was with Harvey.

_Harvey_.

"Babe," his voice interrupted her thoughts. "Time to let her go."

"'Let her go?'" She blinked and turned around to look at the long line of people waiting to pay their respects. She saw Marcus Petrie wave and wanted to wave back to him, but she suddenly felt like she couldn't move, like raising her hand was too much effort.

"C'mon, babe. Let's just...let's join the people in the other room. They're sayin' a rosary or somethin'," he all but dragged his wife around the corner where a water fountain was.

"Mary Beth, drink some water. It'll help"

How was water supposed to help her?

Chris was gone. Chris was gone because she jumped in front of her to save her life.

She could still hear the sound of her partner's body being riddled with bullets before it fell to the ground and made a loud thud. She screamed obscenities as she shot the man right in the heart not once, not twice, but five times before she ran over to her partner who was gasping for breath.

"I-I love you, Mary Beth," she panted. "I've always...always loved you."

"Chris…" she put her lips to Chris' mouth, fully intent on performing CPR, but the blonde started to kiss her so she gave in and kissed her back as tears streamed down her face. She knew there was no hope. She knew Chris had just saved her life and admitted her true feelings for her, because she knew that she was about to die.

There had been clues over the years, but Mary Beth pretended not to pick up on them. She was married with children. She couldn't allow herself to think of Chris as anything other than a close coworker and friend. Kissing her in that moment, she allowed herself to think of Chris as the woman she loved with her whole heart, someone she wanted to be more than friends with. When the kiss was over, Chris' head dropped.

"Chris?!" She shook her partner. "No no no. Christine Cagney, you wake up right now! I love you! I love you too, Chris! Wake up so I can tell you," she sobbed and started to do CPR even though she knew it was useless. She had been shot too many times and lost too much blood.

"I love you too. I love you too." She just kept repeating the words over and over again.

"Mary Beth." She heard someone call her name and assumed it was Harvey pulling her back from her reverie again.

"Don't wanna," she mumbled sleepily and turned up onto her side.

"Did you have that nightmare again?" Chris wrapped her arms around her and kissed her shoulder.

She quickly blinked open her eyes and sat up in bed. "N-nightmare?" She asked. "I…yeah. I dreamt that you-you died. You saved my life. I was at your funeral or the-the visitation or viewing or whatever they call it."

"I didn't die, baby. I had on my vest like you told me to," she soothed her and ran her fingers through her hair.

"That's, that's right," she breathed as it all came rushing back to her.

Their brush with death made them both admit to feelings neither of them would've disclosed under other circumstances.

Mary Beth worried about the logistics of their relationship, but she knew that she couldn't continue to keep living a lie. She loved Christine. She was _in love_ with Christine. It may have taken a near death experience for them both to admit it, but it was their truth.

The brunette was altruistic to a fault, and it was painfully hard for her to do something for herself, even when the something would make her happier than she ever had been before.

Harvey was furious and hurt. Michael was confused. Harvey Jr. hadn't written back to her. Thank goodness for Alice. The baby girl didn't love her any less or harbor any feelings of anger and hatred, at least, not yet.

She still loved Harvey; she always would, but he couldn't give her what Chris could. She hoped to make him understand, but he just swore he would get the kids and told her to leave.

Mary Beth turned her head so that she was facing Christine and gave her a gentle kiss. "I wish we hadn't waited so long," she whispered.

"Me neither, but we're here now, and that's what matters. We stopped pretending and lying to ourselves and each other," the blonde gazed into Mary Beth's dark brown eyes before she kissed her again, this time a little more forcefully, her tongue exploring her partner's mouth.

Mary Beth couldn't help but moan. She ran her fingers along both sides of Chris' neck and slowly traced circles around her breasts.

"God I love you, Detective Lacey," Chris breathed against her lips.

"I love you too, Sergeant Cagney. I love you too."


End file.
